What Virat must do

By the time you read this, we’d be just hours away from the start of the third Test between India and England at Nottingham. The colossal batting failure in the first two Tests has already been dissected and critiqued. Captain Virat Kohli —and coach Ravi Shastri — have been pilloried for the abject performance by experts and fans alike. And  the moot point is whether this team has the self-belief to bounce back from the humiliating setbacks. The chances are that we will know the answer, possibly even by the end of day one, if India is put into bat.

For anyone who is interested in stories of business or sports turnarounds, the Indian team's current travails make for a compelling study. And I’m willing to bet that these reversals will teach Virat and his boys a lot more about the game — and about life in general — than the resounding string of recent victories that catapulted them to the No. 1 side in the world.

If you’re an entrepreneur or a leader in business, in government or in the social sector, sometimes allowing yourself to slip down the pedestal is a reality that all of us have to guard against. And success — and continuous success at that— masks some bad habits and practices that tend to invariably creep in.

Consider a few:

Too much chopping and changing: An aggressive, decisive leader like Virat likes to make decisions. And they tend to work most times. But sometimes, when they don’t come off, the same decisions appear impulsive and ill-thought through. Team selection is tricky business in business too. Virat has a lot in faith in K L Rahul’s abilities. And he was willing to sacrifice Shikhar Dhawan's place in the side for the second Test to accommodate Rahul. It was another matter that the gamble didn't pay off. Should Virat have persisted with Shikhar Dhawan, as Sunny Gavaskar argued in his column? We’ll never know the right answer. But there's no doubt that the constant changes in the team composition upsets the rhythm of the players. And a revolving door undermines their confidence.

I knew a CEO of a firm who had a similar trigger-happy disposition towards his senior team. The company went through a tough phase — with its performance significantly lagging behind investor expectations. The CEO responded with tough talk — and even tougher actions. He sent three of his senior team packing. And that sparked fears down the line that they would be next on the chopping block. Innovation — the need of the hour — and careful deliberation suffered, as the team tried to aim for short-term results, instead of focussing on fixing the root causes and laying the foundations of a business.

The lesson: A bias for action is a double-edged sword in any leader, and needs to be tempered, especially during a crisis. And the ability to attentively listen to voices that are different from yours — even employees who tend to disagree with you — can be a useful way to spot possible flaws.

Tactics matter, but sharing what works is critical: The best period of play for India was the partnership between Virat and Hardik in the first Test. With the ball swinging and seaming in difficult English conditions, Virat was able to figure out a way to negate the swing by taking guard at least two feet outside the batting crease. He passed on the tip to Hardik as well. And that tactic worked. It was a good example of adaptability, something that has been hard to find for most of the Test series. 

Were there enough such efforts to build a plan of action in the team meetings? Did the Indian bowlers have any useful inputs to provide the batsmen? We’ll know when the third Test begins, if the batsmen are able to figure out a sensible way to deal with the conditions. It will take a bit more than just grit to deliver the goods.
 

In team sports, the sharing culture — and the ability to help out each other — determines how well a team learns. Most often, intense competitive rivalry makes it difficult for teams to rise up to the challenge. 

For a while now, the Indian cricket team had put in place basic processes to share learnings from every game. Digging deep and emphasising the need to stick to these processes will allow new ideas to float up. And that’s how the tide will start to turn.

Modern day cricketers are trained to shut out the noise around them. Yet like CEOs, they too have to handle the regular press conferences, which are often times no different from the seaming tracks on the cricket ground. Focussing on the game — and blocking out the incessant stream of criticism that all of us fans throw at the side — is imperative, but seldom easy. 

Let’s cut Virat some slack till this series is over. And watch closely to see if he and his team can reverse the losing streak.

(The author is co-founder, Founding Fuel)